


Wanna Bet?

by tomachan



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Angst, Eddie Kaspbrak & Stanley Uris Are Best Friends, Fluff, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:20:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24675232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomachan/pseuds/tomachan
Summary: A bet from Stanley turns Richie and Eddie's lives upside down. One hundred kisses in two weeks, easy money.... right?
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 11
Kudos: 65





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I've literally had this on my mind for weeks, thank you @Amber_Angel for coming up with the boyfs fic that this is inspired by because this has literally plagued my brain for so long that I have to write it to get it out of there.  
> Anyways, please talk to me about Reddie,, "Spare Reddie?" *shakes an empty can* "Spare Reddie, ma'am?" Also yell at me to update this because knowing me I might leave this unfinished if I don't think of an ending lmao

“Do you think one of them will ever ask her out?” Eddie pondered out loud.

Stanley Uris glanced over at where Eddie was looking. In the other corner of the hideaway sat Bill and Ben, enraptured by every syllable that was coming out of the only girl friend in their friend group’s mouth. It was so easy to see that their heads were miles over their own heels for the amber haired wild card.

He tilted his head back at the brunet with a blank gaze, “Maybe once they get their heads out of their asses and figure out how.”

Eddie scoffed, knowing that that wasn’t going to happen any time soon, and rubbed his hands together. It was starting to get colder in Derry. Maine was unforgiving with its winters, and the leaves had already begun to wither, even in September. Their little clubhouse, though warm with familiarity, was not warm to the body, unfortunately for the smaller boy.

“Speaking of dumbasses, have you seen Richie yet? He was supposed to be here by five, and it’s already-“ Eddie checked down at his watch, a soft frown crossing his face. “Five fourty.”

Stan stretched out his arms in front of himself, letting out a just-audible pop from his shoulders and sighing, “You know he’s always late.”

“Well, yeah, but….” he trailed off, unintentionally giving the front door a longing look.

The curly haired boy cracked a small smile at the other. Why was it always obvious to everyone but the ones in love? He crossed the short distance of the den to Eddie and sat on his knees next to him. When he got an eyebrow quirk, he leaned over and dramatically sighed.

“ _Oh, when will Richie return from war?_ ” he theatrically fainted across Eddie’s lap with a hand over his forehead.

A laugh bubbled up from Eddie’s chest as he smacked Stan across the chest lightly, and they both dissolved into a giggle fit, somehow still not gaining any attention from the other losers in the room.

Eddie smiled down at him and faked a frown, “Would you quit that?”

“What?” Stanley laughed, batting a hand up at Eddie’s chin. The other scoffed and batted his hands against the other’s for a few petty moments. “You’re always acting like his wife. ‘ _Oh, Stanley, when will my beloved come back to lay his unwashed hands all over my prized possession of comics and talk about his latest escapades with my dearest mother? I simply must know, I am dying to know!_ ’”

Eddie smacked a hand across him a little harder this time, but still with no bite, as he continued to laugh along, “I do not.”

“Do too! I bet when he comes through that door, you’re going to run up to him, confess your big gay crush on the idiot, and give him a big smooch!” Stanley joked, pursing his lips out and making smooch noises.

A hand smacked across Stan’s mouth and laid there, as Eddie rolled his eyes.

“I’d never kiss that trashmouth. Do you have any idea where it’s been? I mean he probably- _oh gross!_ Stan! Don’t lick my hand!” Eddie cried out, frantically rubbing his hand across the front of his jeans.

Stanley erupted with laughter, an arm reaching over his stomach as he cackled. Once they both finally settled down after a few agonizing minutes of calming down, looking at each other, giggling again, and repeat, Stan finally spoke up from his lap.

“You’re right. I bet you couldn’t even kiss him, or even anyone; you’d flip out from all the germs!” Stan chuckled, jokingly mocking his friend for his apprehension with anything less than hospital-grade sanitation.

A chord struck with Eddie, and he scoffed a little laugh, “I can kiss people. It’s not- I mean, it’s not that bad, right? Statistically speaking, there’s, like, twenty billion bacteria in a person’s mouth at a time, which, wow, actually that’s a lot, and that sounds really gross to put those together in any sort of fashion, but- but I digress-“

Stan’s laughter stopped his rapid ranting short, and he pouted.

“I can totally kiss people!”

The taller looked up at him with one raised eyebrow, “Bet?”

“What do you mean?” Eddie observed at his mischievous friend with caution and suspicion, and rightfully so.

Stan sat up and stared him straight in his eyes with a wide grin that was only shown when he had the most absolute diabolical plans known to man.

“I bet you wouldn’t kiss Richie,” Stan smirked as Eddie slowly leaned back on his hands. “Not even on the cheek.”

Eddie looked away from his stare to the side of the room where the other losers were sitting, too enraptured by Bev to see how close the Jewish boy had gotten to him with the smile of a serial killer before his next victim.

“You’d be too chicken to,” Stan tacked on.

The smaller’s eyes darted back at him quickly with an incredulous look and steeled his resolve. No way was he backing down from a challenge. He can always just brush his teeth for a few hours straight, no big deal. One kiss? That’s nothing.

“Pfft,” Eddie crossed his arms over his chest with a huff and glanced away for a second before glaring back into Stan’s way too happy eyes. “I could kiss Richie. Hell, I could kiss him a hundred times and not be fazed by his severe lack of hygiene that is totally not concerning at all for a teenage boy his age, _thank you very much_ , Stanley.”

Stan’s eyes crinkled at the edges as his smile never faltered. Right where he wanted him. “Fine. If you’re so confident, I’ll take you up on that. I bet you that you can’t kiss Richie a hundred times in two weeks.”

Eddie’s confidence cracked for a moment. Was he really taking a bet from Stanley? And was that bet really that he had to kiss the trashmouth of the group? Obviously, Richie wasn’t the worst to look at, with his sharp jawline and big puppy eyes, but he couldn’t recall the last time he came in smelling like anything other than what can only be described as boy. He looked away from him.

“Like, where? I’m not kissing him on the lips if that’s what you’re betting,” Eddie felt smaller than before, his poise wavering.

The other rolled his eyes and leaned back, giving Eddie space to finally let out a soft breath. “Cheeks, hands, nose, anywhere. Just have to put your lips on him.”

He scratched at his cheek for a second, “What do I get if I win?”

Stanley leaned back far, looking at the ceiling for a second in contemplation.

“I’ll give you fifty bucks?” he offered.

Eddie’s eyes widened, and he held out a hand, “Deal.”

Their hands shook firmly for a second as they looked at each other challengingly. This was going to be super easy, Eddie thought, just a few pecks and he has enough money to buy the new video game that’s been on the market for the last few days. Easy money. As soon as their hands parted, the door to the hangout swung open.

“Richie’s here, let the party start!” Richie’s loud voice boomed, startling everyone for a second before they continued on to their own stories again. “Come on, I brought Mike with me!”

Mike peeked around the tall boy and waved his hand shortly before filing into the room, earning a cheer from everyone in the room. Richie visibly pouted and gave out a “oh, come on” before closing the door to stop the chill from entering.

 _Easy money_ , Eddie repeated in his head before he stood up to his feet and brushed himself off. He made his way over to the taller boy with long strides. Better to get this over with quickly.

Richie’s grin brightened drastically once he saw Eddie make his way over. “Spaghetti! You haven’t been waiting too long for me, have y-“

His words stopped short in his mouth as Eddie reached his hands up to grab at Richie’s face and pull him down. His cheeks were squished as Eddie stepped on his toes and pressed his lips against the other’s cheek with as much force as he could muster over his nerves.

He leaned back an inch and looked into Richie’s wide eyes, still holding onto his face for what felt like a whole minute but was only a few seconds in real time. His eyes darted between each of Richie’s, enlarged slightly by his coke bottle glasses to show many emotions flit across his face, apparent when Eddie was this close. Confusion. Joy. Something that looked like….fear?

Richie grabbed his wrists carefully, as if he or this moment could so easily be broken, and Eddie could feel him tremble slightly as he slowly lowered them from his cheeks.

The taller cleared his throat softly and looked into the shorter’s eyes. _Say a joke, something to ease the quiet in the room. Is everyone staring? Oh god, everyone is staring, and no one is talking, and Richie is clueless, and Eddie just kissed him, and oh god, his lips are right there. He just kissed him, and his lips are so much softer than he thought they would be, and-_ “I-“ _That’s not what he wanted to say, something anything, any words, Richie. Come on, now. Anything._

“Wow, I didn’t think you’d actually do it,” Stan piped from across the room, his face incredulous as he looked pointedly at Eddie.

Eddie leaned back, a blush softly spreading across his face, not noticing that his hands are still in Richie’s, but Richie is doing nothing but noticing every single inch of skin that is touching the other, barely keeping his thoughts from booming over their conversation, “Of course! I’m going to win the bet, and you’re gonna pay up, Uris.”

Richie looked between them back and forth before his brain finally caught up enough to say words, “Well, damn, spaghetti, I know you Kaspbraks like getting on this Tozier lovin’, but mind filling me in?” His laugh is slightly strained.

The shorter rips his hands from Richie’s light grip and growls without much force, “Beep beep, Richie.”

Then, Stan pipes up from his spot on the floor, “Well, Rich, our lovely Eddie here bet me he couldn’t kiss you a hundred times in two weeks, and it looks like he’s down to ninety-nine.” His smile was obvious through his voice. A plan well executed and entertainment for the next two weeks, Stan couldn’t be happier.

A soft inhale of breath came from Richie, and Eddie turned back to him, pointing a finger on his chest and speaking clearly with a stern tone, “I have fifty bucks riding on this, Tozier, and you are not going to mess this up for me, got it?”

Richie couldn’t do anything but gulp down the nerves in the back of his throat and nod. “Wouldn’t for the world, Eds.”

“Don’t call me that.” Eddie said with no malice and turned back to sit next to Stan before pulling up a comic book and promptly shoving his face in it. What had he gotten himself into? That face he made….was he going to make it every time? Why did he blush so much? Well, he supposes that a surprise kiss from anyone would do that. Focus on the pages, Kaspbrak.

Richie looked around at the room to see everyone was in fact not in the same state of panic that his heart was going through. Could anyone else hear the loud thrum of his heart against his chest as he willed his heavy blush away? Was this a dream? He pinched the side of his leg real quick. Nope, not a dream. He glanced over at Beverly who had one eye brow raised at him while continuing the story to the two boys in front of her. Richie mouthed out “help me” to her. She shook her head no. Rude.

He took a heavy sigh and sat down next to Stan and started talking about his escapades of the day and how cold it was outside and everything else that came up in his no filter brain. That’s what he can do and what he does best. Divert attention. No one can know, and no one will ever find out.

Eddie sneaks glances from above his comic book every now and then, and he just narrowly misses when Richie does the same when his head is down.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if I spend a whole chapter on them walking home together? Just kidding. ....Unless?

The sky outside was black with stars dotting across its endless canvas, and the ground was only illuminated by the moon’s reflected lights. Bill had said that it was time for everyone to go home, and no one could go against their leader’s words. So, they had all started filing out of the den, cleaning everything up into the disorganized mess that they called “clean”.

“Walk ya home?” Richie asked, bumping his hips into Eddie’s shoulder.

Eddie looked up at the lanky boy from his position crouched on the ground and nodded, pushing half of the stack of comics into his backpack. Richie reached his hand down to him to pull him up, and he stood up, slinging the bag across his back.

Stan called from across the room, “Don’t forget, Eddie, ninety nine more to go! The clock is ticking!”

He knew it was a tease, so he stuck his tongue out at the curly haired boy. _Fine._ Eddie yanked Richie’s hand, still in his own, towards him and gave his knuckles a soft press of his lips. Stan’s laugh was heard throughout the clubhouse at the sight, and Eddie’s cheeks darkened.

Richie swiped his hand away, cradling it in his other arm like it had been hurt. He chuckled with a strain, “Thanks for the reminder, Staniel.”

The shorter rolled his eyes and pulled him towards the exit, making sure Richie’s jacket was zipped all the way up before throwing his own scarf around his head and tying it tight. They both made their way outside, braving the cold. Eddie’s eyes stung with the harsh wind chill, and he stuffed his hands into his pockets, nuzzling his nose into the scarf.

“Fucking Christ, it’s September, why is it, like, negative a zillion degrees outside?” Eddie’s teeth started chattering as they walked.

Richie let out a loud laugh, taking the opportunity to wrap his arm around the other’s shoulders and pull him close, “Oh come on, Eds, you know it’s not that cold out. It’s only like fifty, fifty-five degrees.”

Eddie scoffed, “That’s just because you’re always way too warm no matter what, for some reason. How are you always so warm when you’re literally just a stick? I’ll never understand it! It’s too cold outside to be comfortable, but there’s no snow to make up for it. This is the worst time of year, the worst!” His shoulders raised as if to throw his hands up in the air without actually taking his hands out of his warm pockets.

 _Cute_ , Richie thought.

“Cute.”

The shorter huffed, looking forward, “Whatever.”

How his rants about temperature or bugs or any other natural occurrence that bothered Eddie to no end could ever be cute, he would never know. They continued in comfortable silence, as their feet padded across the asphalt of the road. No cars would be coming down the road, likely until after dawn breaks, so the pair walked along the first white line unafraid.

After a few minutes, Eddie spoke up, “So, I’ve been thinking.”

Richie chuckled, teasing him, “That can’t be good.”

“Quiet,” Eddie rolled his eyes as he bumped him towards the middle of the road with no real force, just a touch with his arm. Richie walked far away dramatically with a fake betrayed noise. “I’ve been thinking about the bet.”

The taller veered himself back over, and his cheeks lit up slightly. What could he be thinking about? He hoped that the cold could be an excuse in case the other saw. Eddie made no move to look at him, eyes trained on the ground in thought.

“Yeah?” he prompted.

“So, I have two weeks, so if we did, say, ten kisses a day, we’d be done with time to spare,” Eddie said, finally glancing over at Richie. "We have to do at least, like, seven a day to make the quota."

Richie smiled mischievously, bumping him back with a soft hip touch, “You know I’d love to, Eds, but you know, I’m a faithful man. I have a lady in my life that I don’t wanna hurt! I don’t know if I can keep this up without telling her about us.”

Eddie looked fully over at him, and he stopped in his tracks. _A lady in his life? Why hadn’t he told anyone in the group about her? Oh no, was Eddie ruining his new relationship? Was he going to be cast aside, and they could no longer play these stupid games together? Was he going to bring her into the group? There wasn't enough room for another person in the group; everyone clicked, and they didn't need some weird new girl coming in and crashing their party! It wouldn't be fun anymore with another person! Someone else taking up all of Richie's time. What if Richie didn’t want to walk him home anymore because he was busy walking her home instead? What if-_

“I guess it’s inevitable. Let’s tell your mom I have to cheat on her with the far hotter Kaspbrak. Oh, Sonia, I’m so sorry!” Richie loudly exclaimed, a hand resting on his forehead in fake anguish.

Anger flared up within the smaller’s body, and he pushed his back with actual force. Thankfully, he wasn’t that strong, so Richie just ended up tumbling forward a few steps, laughter wracking his chest.

“You bitch,” Eddie huffed out, but he couldn’t stop the small smile that was making its way across his face. "Thanks for making me worry, jackass."

The taller smiled, and he pulled Eddie into a one armed hug, “You know I’d never cheat on you, babe. I’m a main course bitch, and you’re my pot of spaghetti.”

“Shut up!” Eddie tried to push him again, failing to stop the laughter from within him as Richie continued to try to hug him through his fighting. He ended up wiggling his fingers around Richie’s hips, causing the other to stop and almost fall over with laughter.

“I surrender, I surrender!” Richie made out through his bout of laughter, and they both settled down, their breaths slowing down as they turned their way onto the side road Eddie’s house was on. "You're a cruel mistress, using my only weakness against me."

“Why are you so insufferable sometimes?” Eddie groaned, but still bumping his shoulder into the other’s playfully.

“Because you love me,” Richie gave him a huge grin, which earned him a hand pushing his face away. Richie’s mind wandered for a moment, and he looked down at the other, “Why did you take the bet anyways?”

Eddie looked up at him, surprised by the question. _Why did he take the bet? Because Stan called him a chicken? So that he could prove to himself and to Stan that he could kiss someone without being scared of germs? To have a reason to ease his curiosity of what Richie would look like when someone kissed him?_

He looked at him for a moment, then turned his gaze down, shrugging, “Cause I want that fifty bucks? That new Nintendo game sounds really fun, and some pocket money to get it would be nice.”

“You know I have money, right? I could just buy it for you?” Richie bumped back into him.

Eddie looked up at him, “You can’t do that.”

He shrugged, “Why not?”

“It’s the principle of the thing!” Eddie exasperated, earning himself a laugh from the taller. “You know I can’t let Stan win, or he’ll call me a chicken and never let it go!”

“That’s why I never back down from a challenge with him!” Richie let out a laugh. “I ended up having to lick the elementary school swing set!”

“No,” Eddie started, rolling his eyes. “You said you were going to lick it, Stan said _‘Please don’t’_ , and you said _‘Don’t tell me what to do, Uris’_ and licked it. Then you got sick, like I said you would, and I had to bring you all of the homework for that week!”

Richie’s heart warmed at the memory of Eddie having to sneak out of his house when Sonia was asleep just to race over to Richie’s, climb up the tree next to his window and knock on it, even with his broken arm wrapped up in a cast, then hand him the papers once he managed to open the window. A modern day Romeo and Juliet, he thought.

“My hero,” Richie smiled.

“Shut up,” Eddie rolled his eyes as they made their way up his driveway. His heart always hurt a little bit when they made it here, knowing if given the chance, he would gladly walk another block around just to be able to talk to the trashmouth some more. Even though he was raunchy and stupid and said the wrong things, his banter just clicked with Eddie in a way no one else in their group did.

They walked their way up to his door, and Eddie looked at Richie. His nose and ears looked red, even though the taller wasn’t shivering. He reached around himself and pulled off his scarf impulsively, wrapping it around Richie and holding the ends.

Richie’s mind raced as he looked into Eddie’s big brown eyes for a moment, faces inches away from each other.

“Eds…“

“Keep it. You look cold,” Eddie broke eye contact, looking down at his scarf, a present from one of his relatives he hadn’t seen since he was a child. “Just give it back tomorrow, okay?”

Richie nodded dumbly as he watched the smaller boy’s fingers fiddle with the tassles on the ends. _He should say something_ , he thought, but nothing came out of his mouth. This connection was almost too much to handle. The air around them seemed warm and full of static. Eddie had to feel it, too, right? His hands covered Eddie’s lightly. He leaned down agonizingly slowly, his eyelids drooping as he looked down at Eddie’s lips.

“Eddie bear, is that you?” a call from the house made both of the boys jump.

Shit. Eddie looked at the door, hands still holding the scarf and being held by Richie’s, “Yeah, ma! Just a second!”

He looked back at Richie, eyes showing confusion as to what made the air feel thick enough to cut with a knife. He looked back and forth between his eyes.

Eddie grasped the ends of the scarf and pulled him down, placing a soft kiss on Richie’s forehead.

“Ninety seven more to go,” he breathed out. “Stay warm, Rich.”

“Eddie!”

“Coming ma!” he shouted, sparing a glance back at the blushing boy on his porch before making his way inside.

_What the hell was that?_

Richie grabbed his chest, eyes wide. _What was that?_ Did he almost just _kiss_ Eddie? _Wasn’t that the number one rule not to do, Tozier? Don’t show any romantic feelings towards Eddie? God, how stupid could you be?!_ He beat himself up over it the entire walk down the driveway. _Stupid, stupid stupid!_

He breathed in, blinking back tears that has suddenly formed. Oh. He had Eddie’s scarf, he almost forgot it was on. He slowly reached up to grasp it and inhaled. The scent calmed him down, and he sighed.

Maybe he didn’t notice. Maybe it was all in his head, and he was daydreaming, and Eddie just threw the scarf on him, told him to _‘Stay warm, dumbass’_ , and went inside. This is fine. Everything… is _fine_.

He walked back to his own home, making his way through the dark, empty house, up the stairs, to his room, and plopped himself down on his bed. Nothing new about coming home to an empty house. Nothing new happened ever, and nothing new happened tonight, so he had nothing to worry about. He leaned back on his bed, stretching out his muscles, and relaxed.

_What the hell was that?_

Eddie’s eyes widened as he looked down at the lock on the door and turned it. Richie was going to kiss him. He was totally going to _kiss him_! Right? …. _Right?_

 _Think logically, Kaspbrak. Maybe he wasn’t trying to kiss you. Maybe he was moving down to let you kiss him goodnight because of the bet._ Yeah, that sounds more rational. Richie wouldn’t even want to kiss him because he was just a weird hypochondriac. He sighed, leaning off of the door.

“Eddie, who was that with you? Was that Richie? Oh, you know I don’t like that boy,” his mother griped from across the room.

Eddie rolled his eyes before turning around and making up a quick lie, knowing she couldn’t have seen him from all the way in the living room, “No, ma, it was Stan.”

“Oh, Stan! That’s okay then. He’s so much more neat and clean than that Tozier boy,” her voice drifted through the hall as Eddie made his way up the stairs.

“Yeah, ma. I’m going to bed now; it’s getting pretty late. Good night,” his steps creaked as he made his way up them.

“Alright, sweetie, good night! Don’t forget to take your bedtime medicine!”

Eddie groaned the second he closed his door, knowing all of the medicine she was forcing on him was placebos, a word he figured out was the actual term after his revelation, and knowing he wasn’t going to be taking them any time soon.

He always hated how she talked about Richie. Sure, he wasn’t on the cover of Perfect Teenage Boy magazine, but he was still extremely smart. He was still witty. He was charming in his own ways. He was still his friend, if not his best friend. His best friend who maybe just tried to kiss him. _Fuck._

Eddie tossed his bag on the floor before throwing himself on his bed and groaning into his pillow. He definitely wasn’t going to survive these next two weeks.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hand kisses? Hand kisses. Also, Georgie is alive because Bill deserves to be happy.

The next morning, Eddie was greeted kindly to the warm lights of the sun outside of his window, shining lightly on his face. Today was a Monday, so school was unfortunately inevitable. He looked over at his alarm clock. The numbers 5:47 blared back at him in large red numbers. Thirteen minutes before his alarm was supposed to go off. _Great._ Sighing, he swung his legs over his bed and stretched his arms up in the air.

The harsh, cold water of his shower woke him up more, and his mind wandered over to the previous night. _It wouldn’t be weird to see Richie today, would it?_

Nothing was ever weird between them. Every time their hands brushed accidentally, they would eventually forget about it. This would be no different, he thought to himself, going about his morning routine.

Eddie let out a soft sigh. He shrugged his sweater on and swung his backpack over his shoulder, walking over to the door and throwing a “Going to school, ma!” out to his mother in the kitchen before shutting it behind him. He met up with Richie at the end of the street before their school, and his mood lightened. He always knew how to make Eddie feel energized and ready for the day.

“Morning, Richie!” he called, skirting his bike over to sit by the side of the road. They had a long stretch of field next to them before the turn to the school, and barely anyone took this road but them. He parked the bike, lifted his legs off of it, and leaned against it. “You’re pretty early.”

Richie did the same, parking it to the side in front of Eddie’s. He made his way over to the shorter boy and smiled with his signature big grin, “Of course, I couldn’t miss out on a little more Eds in the morning. You’re like my coffee.”

Eddie rolled his eyes at that, “Yeah, I’m like coffee, harsh and bitter. Don’t call me Eds.”

“Aw, Eddie, don’t be like that!” he laughed, reaching over to pinch his cheek before being swatted away by a huffy Eddie. He reached into his bag and pulled out the scarf from the night before, wrapping it around Eddie’s neck and leaning in close. “I happen to like my coffee sweet, just like you.”

He huffed, looking away and trying to will away his blush. _Coming on a little strong there, Tozier. Reel it back._ Eddie leaned back in and looked him back in the eyes, “Whatever, Rich. Look, we need to game plan.”

“Game plan?” he looked confused, like a cute puppy. Eddie’s heart swelled slightly. “About what, Eds?”

“About the bet, dumbass. How am I going to get my quota in if we’re going to be at school all day?” Eddie crossed his arms over his chest.

Well, he hadn’t even thought about that. With Bowers and his gang of homophobic assholes, they would have to be sneaky and rethink every one of their moves. Guys couldn’t just kiss each other’s cheeks in the middle of broad daylight in Derry. That would be a death sentence right there, and there was no way he was going to put Eddie in danger just to make sure he didn’t get teased by Stan.

Richie’s heart dropped, and his tone was melancholy when he said, “Maybe we should just call it off-“

“I mean there’s the library and the bleachers where all of those random stoners get high and make out, even though we wouldn’t be making out, but- wait _what_?” Eddie cut him off with ranting.

“What?” Richie blinked.

“You want to call it off?” Eddie looked almost offended. He didn’t even think about that as an option.

“No, I thought you would want to call it off. You- You want to sneak around and make out behind the bleachers, Eds? Kinky,” Richie wiggled his eyebrows, quickly changing the subject to something more raunchy, his specialty.

Eddie pushed him, letting out a loud groan, “Shut up, I’m just trying to think of places it would be safe to do it, is all.”

Richie looked at the blushing boy, a smile flashing across his face. He leaned in and took the other’s smaller hands into his own, making Eddie look up into his eyes, magnified by his coke bottle glasses.

“You’re safe with me. And, we’re safe here, aren’t we?”

His heart thumped loudly in his chest. Eddie looked around the abandoned road. They were alone, weren’t they? Why did it feel like he was sneaking around to kiss him because they were secret lovers? They were just doing this for a bet, a bet that will be over in ninety seven more kisses. The thought made his heart hurt a little in his chest. _Weird, why does that hurt?_ His mind quickly left that thought, and all he could think of is the colour of Richie’s eyes as he stares down at him with an expression so soft that his heart started racing.

“Y-Yeah,” Eddie breathed.

The feeling of Richie’s thumbs rubbing across the tops of his hands grounded him as he leaned up, closing his eyes tightly, pressing his lips against Richie’s cheek. He leaned back and noticed a blush on Richie’s cheeks.

_Thank you, Stan._

“We, uh, we should probably do a couple more. We’re only at four,” Eddie muttered and cleared his throat, looking away from Richie.

“Well, I’m here, ripe for kissing, I guess,” Richie laughed, taking one of his hands back and scratching the back of his neck. _How was he doing to survive this? This was torture, absolute torture._

Eddie gave a determined look, nodding and bringing the hand that was still in his own up to his lips. He muttered out as he pressed his lips against the back of Richie’s hand. “Five.” Eddie flipped it over and kissed the inside of his palm. “Six.” One towards the tips of his fingers. “Seven.”

Richie pulled his hand out of his grip gently and put it on Eddie’s cheek. Eddie leaned into it and pressed his lips onto Richie’s thumb. “Eight.”

They looked into each other’s eyes for a long moment. Something in the air was thick, and they could barely see through the invisible cloud to see around them. It was if the world had gone away, and they were standing on their own little patch of the world. Richie’s eyes darted to the side, and he took a big step back with a quickness, cutting whatever was there in an instant. _Shit._

Eddie was confused before a car whizzed past them, tussling their hair. He coughed, looking down and at the ground, “That, ah, that should be enough for now, you think?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Richie nodded his head a bit frantically.

 _That could’ve been really close._ The pair would definitely have to be more careful. Eddie nodded towards their bikes, and they cycled over to the school, meeting up with the rest of the losers. They had enough time before the first bell rang to be teased by Stan and tell him how far they are in the bet.

The day dragged on and on, and being forced to learn things they likely wouldn’t need for the future definitely did not make it go by any quicker.

“Stan, I swear, you have put me in my own emotional Hell,” Richie whined to his second best friend once the last bell rung, both of them pushing their way out of the classroom with all of their books and bags in hand.

Stan rolled his eyes, “If this is Hell, I think the real thing is really going to shock you.”

Richie groaned, running a hand through his hair and pulling at a few tangles.

“Really, Rich. You should be thanking me,” he sighed, pushing all of his books into his bag in a neat way as he watched Richie do the same, but messily. _Jeez, how did he get straight A’s if all of his assignments were crumpled to shit?_ “You’ve had a crush on him since, like, fifth grade.”

“Fourth,” Richie grumbled as they made their way through the hallway. “I was going to wait to confess until maybe senior year…”

“We are in senior year, Richie,” Stan reminded him.

“Of college,” he continued. After he was given a look, he added, "Sue me."

Stan pinched the bridge of his nose. _Why are the two boys so difficult sometimes... All of the time_ , “I don’t see how this is a bad thing, Richie.”

Richie threw his arms up in the air, “How am I supposed to stop myself from kissing him if his face is literally two inches from mine, Stan?! He gave me his scarf last night, and I almost planted one right on him because he looked so cute! I can't take it!”

“’So cute?’ We talkin' about Eddie?” Beverly walked up to the duo, bag in one hand.

“Of course he is,” Stan complained.

“Of _course_ I am! Stan has put me in the absolute _worst_ position for someone like me! How am I supposed to survive?!” Richie swung his arms around as he talked, just barely not hitting anyone around him.

Bev and Stan exchanged a look, and she chimed in, “We all can see that you’re crushing on him. Just ask him out already.”

Richie could not do that. Not in a million years. _He had to let Eddie have his own life while he hopelessly pined for the next twenty seven years or however long he plans to crush on him until eventually maybe telling him once they’re old enough that they can laugh it off and pretend nothing ever happened, that was the plan!_

“You know he likes you, too, right?” Bev looked over at the anguished boy.

Richie’s head whipped around, “Not you, too. Just because you want us to get us together doesn’t mean he likes me back!”

The exchanged another exasperated look, and Beverly sighed, “Why else would he accept the bet if he didn’t like you?”

Richie had obviously thought over that point, but then pointedly thrown any other implications out as hopeful thinking and went back about his day, as you do when you’re afraid of rejection, especially from the love of your life. _Obviously._

His face flushed, and he looked ahead purposely, “So that Stan wouldn’t tease him about it, obviously.”

“He’s got a point,” Stan snickered, holding the door open for the trio to walk out of.

They were greeted at the end of the walk by the other losers, waving between them. Richie gulped down his nerves and made his way over to Eddie, ignoring the skip of his heartbeat, and he wrapped an arm around the smaller boy, grinning widely.

“You didn’t miss me too much, did ya?” Richie smirked, rubbing a hand against his well-groomed hair.

Eddie groaned, trying to get him to stop, and the group laughed at the two. Mike and Bill started talking to the group about their project in Chemistry, both complaining about how useless it seemed and how they were paired up with someone who didn’t do their work at all. Richie barely paid attention, noticing that after he had fixed his hair back in place, Eddie hadn’t tried to get Richie’s arm off of his shoulders. Taking a chance, he leaned over and rested his chin on top of Eddie’s head, wrapping his arms around his shoulders loosely. Just enough that he could push him off easily.

He didn’t. Instead, Eddie chose to speak on one of the teachers who he thought was deliberately giving him trouble. Stan and Beverly gave him a look, and he responded by giving them a subtle middle finger and sticking his tongue out.

The students around them started to disperse, leaving only the group behind at the walls of the school. Bill noticed this, and he gave out an, “Alright, losers. Let’s start getting home so we can work on this shitty assignment. I’m sure Georgie has been waiting a while.”

That was the cue for everyone to start walking to Mike’s car and their bikes. Eddie looked up, pressing a kiss to the bottom of Richie’s chin before pulling out of his embrace.

“Nine,” Eddie smirked at the other, catching him completely off guard before walking towards the group.

Richie made it a point to glare at Stan and mouth “ _hell_ ” before making his way to Eddie’s side. Stan gave him a not so subtle middle finger in return.

The ride home was mostly filled with comfortable silence, a few quips back and forth and inquiries of how each other’s day went going back and forth between them before they made it to the front of Richie’s house.

“There’s a new episode of that show you liked last time you came over that's on tonight, you wanna stay?” Richie parked his bike at the side of his empty as always house, looking at the other still on his bike.

“Nah, you know my mother wouldn’t let me before finishing my homework,” Eddie rolled his eyes, knowing how neurotic she would get whenever he came home, knowing she would search his bag top to bottom for no reason other than to know what he was doing and to control him even further.

Richie walked back up to him, pushing his hands into his pockets, “Well, that’s shit. Maybe after?”

“Were you even listening when I was talking to Mike?” Eddie groaned, getting off his bike to stretch his legs briefly. _He wasn’t. He was too focused on how Eddie’s shampoo made him smell slightly like melon._ “I have to do a whole essay tonight.”

“Damn. See you tomorrow then?” Richie gave him a lopsided smile.

“Uh, yeah.”

Eddie looked around at their surroundings, trying not to look suspicious. This made Richie start up a question before being cut off by the shorter pulling him in by the arm, trying not to trip over his own gangly legs in the process, and being pulled in close for a hug.

The smaller boy leaned up a little and pressed the quickest of kisses to Richie’s ear before leaning back and getting on his bike.

“Well, see you tomorrow, Richie!” he called, feet pushing at the pedals quicker than his words came out when he was nervous, like now.

“Uh, see you,” Richie muttered out, waving a hand slightly even though the boy was already halfway down the street.

He lifted a hand to his ear. The noise of the kiss was amplified by the closeness to his ear, and Richie’s brain reverberated the sound over and over again in his mind. He had it so bad. His diary would be absolutely wrecked with all of the thoughts going on inside him if it wasn't weird to have one as a guy almost in college.

_Dear Diary, Eddie just kissed me again, why is life so cruel? Dear Diary, why do I have to sit here while my crush kisses me every day? Hey Diary, why do I like it so much even though it hurts? Hey Diary, me again, how do you stop pining for your best friend?_

Eddie’s bedroom door closed shut as he passed his mother, saying he was going to start working on his new assignment in his room. He leaned against it, heart racing in his chest.

_Why did kissing Richie make the boisterous boy so flustered? Why did it make Eddie feel like his stomach was full of knots?_

He definitely has to write this down in his diary.


End file.
